The Casey Commission is an independent commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, that aims to reform adult social care in England by laying the foundations for a National Care Service. It was established in 2025 by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to develop recommendations for transforming adult social care, consider options for long-term reform, and help build consensus on the future of care and support.
The Commission was originally expected to report in two phases, with an initial report in 2026 followed by final recommendations in 2028. However, following Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s appointment in July 2026, the Government announced that the timetable would be accelerated. Baroness Casey will now publish a single final report in summer 2027, bringing together recommendations on both immediate priorities and longer-term reform.
Alongside announcing the accelerated timetable, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Baroness Casey launched the Big Conversation on Care – a nationwide public engagement programme designed to give people the opportunity to say what they want and expect from a future National Care Service, including on the tough questions on who it should support, what families should reasonably be expected to do, and how the country should pay for care in a fair and sustainable way. The Big Conversation will run in two phases. The first phase of the conversation, from July to November, will ask people about the values and principles we should all expect from a care system and who should be eligible for support. The second will focus on how care should be funded and how reform should be delivered.
How we’re supporting the Casey Commission
We are working closely with Baroness Casey and her team to ensure the experiences of older people, disabled people and unpaid carers are at the heart of the Commission’s work. Below is an overview of our engagement to date, with our latest work first.
Summer 2026 : Supporting the Big Conversation on Care
The launch of the Big Conversation on Care marks an important milestone in the Commission’s work. We strongly welcome the Government’s decision to begin by asking a fundamental question: what should people be able to expect from a modern care and support system?
Over the coming year, we will be encouraging our members, supporters and people with lived experience to take part in the Big Conversation so that the voices of older people, disabled people and unpaid carers help shape the Commission’s final recommendations.
Spring in 2026: Sharing our members’ priorities
Before the Commission’s timetable was accelerated, we worked with our members to identify practical priorities for the Commission’s initial phase focusing on practical, low-to-moderate cost improvements that could make a meaningful difference in the short term. Although the Commission’s reporting structure has since changed, we believe these proposals remain highly relevant and hope they will help inform the Commission’s final recommendations in 2027.
Autumn 2025: Putting lived experience at the heart of reform
One of our most significant contributions has been our Pen Portraits project, showcasing the real-life experiences of older people, disabled people and unpaid carers who need, use or provide care and support.
Through these stories, we wanted to ensure that adult social care is understood not as an abstract policy challenge, but as something that affects people’s everyday lives.
Our Pen Portraits illustrate the relentless bureaucracy, barriers to accessing care, and constraints on independence, dignity and wellbeing experienced by many people who draw on care. They also highlight the daily physical, mental and emotional pressures on unpaid carers who are often left filling the gaps when formal support is unavailable.
Just as importantly, they demonstrate what good care looks like: helping people recover from illness, maintain their independence, stay well for longer and live safe, fulfilling lives. They also show how effective support enables unpaid carers to balance caring with work, family life and their own wellbeing.
We strongly welcome the Commission’s person-centred approach and were pleased that the Commission team used our Pen Portraits during evidence sessions to inform discussion. We remain enormously grateful to everyone who shared their story.
Spring 2025: Highlighting the postcode lottery in social care
As part of our early engagement with the commission, we shared our Show Us You Care local data project with the Commission.
Our analysis of official data revealed significant variation in access to adult social care across England, demonstrating that where someone lives can have a major impact on whether they receive the support they need.
We believe this evidence provides vital context for the Commission’s work. It highlights not only the scale of unmet need, but also the importance of creating a fairer and more consistent national care system, rather than one shaped by arbitrary local variation.
